Wisconsin Voters to Decide Worship Protections During Emergencies

Wisconsin voters will decide Tuesday, Nov. 3, whether to amend the state constitution to prohibit state and local governments from closing places of worship or forbidding gatherings there in response to declared emergencies.

The proposed amendment, appearing on the ballot as Question 2, would add the protection to Article I, Section 18, Wisconsin’s religious liberty provision. It would apply to emergencies declared at the national, state, or local level, including public health emergencies, according to the official referendum notice.

The notice’s explanatory statement says officials currently may restrict public gatherings when religious and secular gatherings receive equivalent treatment. The amendment would go further, preventing officials from prohibiting worship gatherings even when other public gatherings are closed.

Faith Groups Differ Over Emergency Authority

The Wisconsin Family Council supports the proposal, arguing that pandemic restrictions demonstrated the need to protect congregations’ ability to gather and serve their communities during crises.

On the organization’s campaign website, Joseph Fisher, whom the council identifies as senior pastor of Pilgrim Lutheran Church in West Bend, argues that “worship-related decisions in a crisis must rest with church elders and congregations, not central government authorities.”

The council’s campaign also emphasizes the effects of restrictions on weddings, funerals, and worship services, presenting access to congregational life as an essential source of support during isolation and uncertainty.

The Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin opposes Question 2. Its voter guide warns that the amendment would allow worship sites to remain open when government officials consider gatherings “to pose a threat to public health or safety.”

The office, which represents the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s public-policy work in Wisconsin, grounds its position in protecting vulnerable neighbors and balancing religious freedom with public responsibilities.

What Approval Could Mean for Churches

The proposal’s reach would depend partly on how its language is interpreted, according to an analysis by Bree Grossi Wilde and Emma Henderson of the University of Wisconsin Law School’s State Democracy Research Initiative.

The authors identified unresolved questions about whether the prohibition would prevent only complete shutdowns or also restrict government-imposed capacity limits. They also noted that the amendment does not define “places of worship,” leaving uncertainty about which locations would qualify.

Those distinctions matter for congregations: protection against closing a sanctuary does not necessarily settle how officials could regulate attendance or gatherings elsewhere.

The analysis also noted that placing the protection in the constitution would constrain future lawmakers more durably than an ordinary statute. Changing Wisconsin’s constitution requires approval by two successive legislatures and voters.

The proposal addresses government orders rather than requiring congregations to remain open. Wisconsin Family Council says churches could still voluntarily suspend services or adopt precautions.

A yes vote would adopt the amendment. A no vote would leave Wisconsin’s existing constitutional religious-liberty protections unchanged.

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